A measurement of the virtual-photon asymmetry
A
2
(
x
,
Q
2
) and of the spin-structure function
g
2
(
x
,
Q
2
) of the proton are presented for the kinematic range 0.004<
x
<0.9 and 0.18 GeV
2
<
Q
2
...<20 GeV
2
. The data were collected by the HERMES experiment at the HERA storage ring at DESY while studying inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized leptons off a transversely polarized hydrogen gas target. The results are consistent with previous experimental data from CERN and SLAC. For the
x
-range covered, the measured integral of
g
2
(
x
) converges to the null result of the Burkhardt–Cottingham sum rule. The
x
2
moment of the twist-3 contribution to
g
2
(
x
) is found to be compatible with zero.
Single-spin asymmetries were investigated in inclusive electroproduction of charged pions and kaons from transversely polarized protons at the Hermes experiment. The asymmetries were studied as a ...function of the azimuthal angle ψ about the beam direction between the target-spin direction and the hadron production plane, the transverse hadron momentum PT relative to the direction of the incident beam, and the Feynman variable xF. The sinψ amplitudes are positive for π+ and K+, slightly negative for π− and consistent with zero for K−, with particular PT but weak xF dependences. Especially large asymmetries are observed for two small subsamples of events, where also the scattered electron was recorded by the spectrometer.
The momentum and helicity density distributions of the strange quark sea in the nucleon are obtained in leading order from charged-kaon production in deep-inelastic scattering on the deuteron. The ...distributions are extracted from spin-averaged K± multiplicities, and from K± and inclusive double-spin asymmetries for scattering of polarized positrons by a polarized deuterium target. The shape of the momentum distribution is softer than that of the average of the u¯ and d¯ quarks. In the region of measurement 0.02<x<0.6 and Q2>1.0 GeV2, the helicity distribution is zero within experimental uncertainties.
Double-spin asymmetries in exclusive electroproduction of real photons from a transversely polarized hydrogen target are measured with respect to the product of target polarization with beam helicity ...and beam charge, and with respect to the product of target polarization with beam helicity alone. The asymmetries arise from the deeply virtual Compton scattering process and its interference with the Bethe–Heitler process. They are related to the real part of the same combination of Compton form factors as that determining the previously published transverse target single-spin asymmetries through the imaginary part. The results for the double-spin asymmetries are found to be compatible with zero within the uncertainties of the measurement, and are not incompatible with the predictions of the only available GPD-based calculation.
Evidence for a narrow baryon state is found in quasi-real photoproduction on a deuterium target through the decay channel pK0S→pπ+π−. A peak is observed in the pK0S invariant mass spectrum at ...1528±2.6(stat)±2.1(syst) MeV. Depending on the background model, the naive statistical significance of the peak is 4–6 standard deviations and its width may be somewhat larger than the experimental resolution of σ=4.3–6.2 MeV. This state may be interpreted as the predicted S=+1 exotic Θ+(uudds̄) pentaquark baryon. No signal for an hypothetical Θ++ baryon was observed in the pK+ invariant mass distribution. The absence of such a signal indicates that an isotensor Θ is excluded and an isovector Θ is unlikely.
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted; see image).Exclusive electroproduction of ... mesons on unpolarized hydrogen and deuterium targets is studied in the kinematic region ...of ... GeV..., 3.0 GeV ... 6.3 GeV, and ... GeV... Results on the angular distribution of the ... meson, including its decay products, are presented. The data were accumulated with the HERMES forward spectrometer during the 1996-2007 running period using the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron or positron beam of HERA. The determination of the virtual-photon longitudinal-to-transverse cross-section ratio reveals that a considerable part of the cross section arises from transversely polarized photons. Spin density matrix elements are presented in projections of ... or ... Violation of ...-channel helicity conservation is observed for some of these elements. A sizable contribution from unnatural-parity-exchange amplitudes is found and the phase shift between those amplitudes that describe transverse ... production by longitudinal and transverse virtual photons, ... and ..., is determined for the first time. A hierarchy of helicity amplitudes is established, which mainly means that the unnatural-parity-exchange amplitude describing the ... transition dominates over the two natural-parity-exchange amplitudes describing the ... and ... transitions, with the latter two being of similar magnitude. Good agreement is found between the HERMES proton data and results of a pQCD-inspired phenomenological model that includes pion-pole contributions, which are of unnatural parity.
Azimuthal asymmetries in exclusive electroproduction of a real photon from a longitudinally polarized deuterium target are measured with respect to target polarization alone and with respect to ...target polarization combined with beam helicity and/or beam charge. The asymmetries appear in the distribution of the real photons in the azimuthal angle
ϕ around the virtual photon direction, relative to the lepton scattering plane. The asymmetries arise from the deeply virtual Compton scattering process and its interference with the Bethe–Heitler process. The results for the beam-charge and beam-helicity asymmetries from a tensor polarized deuterium target with vanishing vector polarization are shown to be compatible with those from an unpolarized deuterium target, which is expected for incoherent scattering dominant at larger momentum transfer. Furthermore, the results for the single target-spin asymmetry and for the double-spin asymmetry are found to be compatible with the corresponding asymmetries previously measured on a hydrogen target. For coherent scattering on the deuteron at small momentum transfer to the target, these findings imply that the tensor contribution to the cross section is small. Furthermore, the tensor asymmetry is found to be compatible with zero.
Azimuthal asymmetries in exclusive electroproduction of a real photon from an unpolarized deuterium target are measured with respect to beam helicity and charge. They appear in the distribution of ...these photons in the azimuthal angle
ϕ around the virtual-photon direction, relative to the lepton scattering plane. The extracted asymmetries are attributed to either the deeply virtual Compton scattering process or its interference with the Bethe–Heitler process. They are compared with earlier results on the proton target. In the measured kinematic region, the beam-charge asymmetry amplitudes and the leading amplitudes of the beam-helicity asymmetries on an unpolarized deuteron target are compatible with the results from unpolarized protons.
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